Spectre 925 - 069 - Blossom of Blanche Alûstre

This whole collection still is, and I reckon will remain undervalued by many.
Every single scent is very well thought, constructed and executed as a beautiful product which stands out in its own right. Duchaufour at his best; another successful project he contributed to, that actually managed to present worthy new offerings in a sea of chaos, or mostly modern rubbish, if I'm not to be too polite. Right up there with the exquisite Neela Vermeire repertoire, in my opinion.

Now the mandarin & bergamot ones seem to be the shiners as I've seen. Considering how this market have been under a delusion of masculinity dominance, that is not surprising. However, this one captured my heart at first encounter. Don't let the note list trick you, this is not a gourmand floral. It's a lily of the valley [muguet, not "myoudjet" like those of you who studied at Sorbonne(?) like to pronounce it], gently wrapped by other white florals, carefully infused in fruity and warm notes, which give the perfume a nostalgic feeling, rather than a sweet, immature quality. The prominence between the florals is interchangeable, not one is heavier than the other. This is a very gentle, smooth, pleasant-spoken, ringingly feminine fragrance, hence requires a light hand in application, in order to fully see the delicate picture it paints. And the otherwise heady white flowers are subdued skillfully. They sort of float in a cozy infusion of a mixture of sweets and sours, which makes the composition exude a spring-like warmth throughout the wear. Chapeaux once again to Monsieur Duchaufour, for his incredible skills of playing with the fruits in a composition. The balance to my nose is perfect, and both the beginning, and the end of this perfume is muguet. It's the calmly throbbing heart. And I'm so very grateful for this beautiful feminine offering.
Like the rest of the collection, this also has both the timeless classic feel, and the modern quality of the main line of makeup the brand make. Which is also exquisite by the way. From their choice of nose to the distribution of scent genres and the design of the bottles, Alûstre did a great job many nowadays seem like they simply cannot be bothered with. Very well done and congratulations.

A light touch of fresh, red fruits combined with a generous portion of flowers. However, there is no trace of the indicated woods or even the chocolate in the base note. In the drydown, I can only feel the musk. The only note I can distinctly pick out from this composition is the jasmine.

Somehow very familiar. Definitely a scent that you don't smell for the first time. It reminds me of a perfume that my great-grandmother always wore, but I don't know which one. It smells quite feminine, not at all unisex.

But how did I even come across this scent?

One day, at Copenhagen Airport, I worked my way through the entire perfume department. No brand was left out, and I was able to enjoy the fragrances without being approached until my nose eventually gave out. When I arrived at Aqua di Parma, I took my time, as I didn't have any scent from this brand in my collection yet. Eventually, a nice saleswoman approached me.

She was eager to show me the brand "Alustre." I asked again, as I had never heard of this brand before. "That's the brand by Bertrand Duchaufour!" Yes, of course, I know him. And it makes sense to have the stand right next to Aqua di Parma. She asked about my preferred fragrance direction and then handed me this scent.

My nose was already at its limit, and I could only perceive a light Eau de Cologne-like hint of various flowers. Therefore, I decided to test it for now before I let myself be persuaded to spend a considerable amount of money.

For me, this sample is more than enough. Aside from that, it was an exciting experience to test a "new" brand in this way. I mean, it makes sense. A Danish brand will likely be promoted the most in its largest airport.

Performance: Sillage and longevity are not the best. With these fragrance notes, you can definitely find cheaper alternatives.